This is the Lehmann dough formulation I said I had used last week. I mixed another batch again this week and first mixed the salt into the water, then added the sugar, IDY in with the flour and mixed until the dough was kind of scrappy looking, then added the olive oil and only mixed until the olive oil was incorporated into the dough. It can been seen that the scaled dough and the big dough looks kind of scrappy. The mix of the dough took about 4 Ĺ minutes in the Hobart mixer on speed one. The dough balled fine and the dough balls were left to sit out at room temperature for 2 hrs.

I posted in my last post that I was trying the same Lehmann formulation as last week with a little more time at room temperature for this week. The final dough temperature was almost the same.

When I went to market yesterday morning the dough balls looked a lot more fermented than last week. When I went to make the pizzas there was a lot of rim rise. I also saw a lot more fermentation bubbles in the skins. The dough handled well when opening, but I couldnít understand what had changed so much from last week when I didnít have hardly any rim rise. Most of the day I keep thinking about what could have changed since I used the same formulation, same flour, same mixing method, almost the same final dough temperature and a little longer for the dough balls to sit out before placing them in the pizza prep fridge (it was about 54 degrees ambient room temperature at market on Monday, so I didnĎt think the extra time at room temperature would matter that much since the ambient room temperature was lower). Steve and I talked about it for awhile yesterday. Later in the day the dough balls looks like they were huge. I didnít give any thoughts to look at my pizza prep fridge. I then saw it was pushed against the back wall. Even though there are locks on the pizza prep fridges wheels, the pizza prep fridge does move fairly easily. Being that my stand is so small doesnít help matters either, but it is fairly easy to push against the pizza prep fridge while doing something else. I checked the temperature in the pizza prep fridge and it was 46 degrees F. I know now why my dough balls and pizzas were different this week. I pulled the pizza prep fridge out a little and the temperature started coming down soon, but that was in the late afternoon. I had wanted to take a picture of how much those dough balls had fermented up until that time, but then my camera broke. The last pizza was baked a little to long for my tastes, because there usually needs to be a little reheat when customers wants to purchase a slice.

Someone might think I should know better what to check by now, but I was in and out of the pizza prep fridge and it didnít appear to be too warm.

It was warm inside market today because someone must had been fiddling with the heaters again. I mixed the same way as last week and left the dough balls sit out for one hour this week because it was warmer. I made sure to check my pizza prep fridge temperature today and since it isnít against the wall the temperature is okay. Now to wait and see what happens tomorrow.

I know the people that fiddle with the thermostats. They both have little heaters at their stands and they both arenít at market any other day but market day. Last week the one said to me no one turned the thermostat back and I said yes they must have because when I was at market the Friday before and last Monday it was cold. I knew they turned it up again, but didnít say anything more. When the thermostat is turned up the heaters keep running and running almost continually. I wouldnít want to see the propane bills for market.

I know it is supposed to be cold in our area tonight and tomorrow. At least in the winter I have the oven to keep me warm on Tuesdays.

I did write myself a note today at market to take Craigís readings he wanted.

I think I am finished playing around with the new formulation I was trying for the Lehmann dough at market. The dough balls fermented too much and the dough balls were harder to open. The final pizzas were okay, but not what I am looking for. I canít figure out what is going on with the formulation I have been trying, but it is back to my old Lehmann dough formulation.

I tried a little different Lehmann dough when I made the dough batches on Sunday. I decreased the hydration to 61%, didnít add sugar, changed the Kosher salt to 1.85% and changed the olive oil to 1.95% and finally used 0.25% IDY because I was going to cold ferment the dough balls for 2 days instead of one day. I think I like that Lehmann dough better, but will experiment with it more. The first picture below is the first pizza that came out of the oven in the morning. I also timed a few pizzas coming out of my deck oven to see how long they take to bake. The bake times were around 5 minutes 30 seconds to 6 minutes.

I also thought I was having problems with my pizza prep fridge in it keeping a steady low enough temperature. I had checked the top of the pizza fridge last week and it seemed okay, but when I went to market on Sunday the temperatures kept changing, so I put all my dough balls into the deli case because I really didnít trust the pizza prep fridge since the last few weeks the dough balls looked almost overblown. Well, Tuesday confirmed to me that the pizza prep fridge isnít keeping the right temperature after checking the digital thermometer different times on the top of the pizza prep fridge and the bottom. Yesterday morning I called different businesses and people to see where I might get my pizza prep fridge fixed, or if I have to replace it. I found a place in Myerstown that is going to come out today or tomorrow to see what it costs to fix my pizza prep fridge. Being the equipment at my small pizza stand is commercial equipment just anyone wouldnít have the parts if it can be fixed. Since I never dealt with this company before and I didnít have an account with them they required I give a 300.00 deposit from my credit card before they come out to look at the pizza prep fridge. Of course the company will take money off of my credit card if the price to fix my pizza prep fridge is less than 300.00. Hopefully, my pizza prep fridge can be fixed, because there is no way it could be moved out, unless I would rip out the whole front of my stand. There is no room to move the pizza prep fridge out between my deck oven and where I open my doughs. That space is way to small. I have to move my Hobart mixer across my stand and move my one table out for the repair man to be able to move my pizza prep fridge around to look at the back of it. That darn Hobart mixer is heavy and I will have one heck of a time trying to move it.

Steve and I decided to try a regular Lehmann dough ball in a 8-square steel pan later Tuesday and temper it in the Hatco Unit like I am doing for Detroit style pizzas. We also dressed it like a Detroit style pizza with the same cheese blends. We were going to taste test some slices and were hungry for a slice, but as soon as we took it out of the oven a customer wanted to purchase the whole pizza. So much for wanting to taste how it differed from a Detroit style pizza. I donít know why, but this pizza also wanted to become uneven on the top of the pizza. I guess there are things I never will figure out.

Well I cant judge the taste but from the pictures but those pies look outstanding Norma, great job! I am curious why you decided to decrease the hydration and the salt content. Was there a reason or were you just tinkering? Jim

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Norma: I sure hope your prep fridge can be repaired inexpensively. I like the micro blisters on the NY pie. What did you like better about the 2-day cold ferment... taste... crumb? I have a question about the Detroit style one (a style that I'm not familiar with, so please excuse me). How was the crumb? It looks a little less open than your other pies.

Barry

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Well I cant judge the taste but from the pictures but those pies look outstanding Norma, great job! I am curious why you decided to decrease the hydration and the salt content. Was there a reason or were you just tinkering? Jim

Thanks Jim!

I am always tinkering to find a better NY style pizza for market, so really there was no reason for decreasing the hydration and the salt content.

Norma: I sure hope your prep fridge can be repaired inexpensively. I like the micro blisters on the NY pie. What did you like better about the 2-day cold ferment... taste... crumb? I have a question about the Detroit style one (a style that I'm not familiar with, so please excuse me). How was the crumb? It looks a little less open than your other pies.

Barry

Barry,

Thank you for saying you hope the prep fridge can be repaired inexpensively. I know other dealers that cost 95.00 just to come look at commercial equipment and that is tacked on to a service charge so hopefully this business will be fair. You just never know what to do in a case like this.

I did like the 2 day cold fermented Lehmann dough better. Just fermenting for one more day just gives a better taste in my opinion.

Yes, the crumb on the Lehmann dough made into a Detroit style was a little denser, but I it still looked moist. I would have liked to have tasted a slice. At 61% hydration that is a lot different than what I have been trying for a Detroit style pizza. I am posting about my Detroit style pizzas on the Two Billís thread under Sicilian. I found it interesting though when the dough was proofed in the Hatco Unit that the Lehmann dough was then quite sticky after the tempering.

It would have been interesting to get the feedback of the customer who purchased the square Lehmann pizza. You might try it again sometime. It might not pass muster as a Detroit style pizza but for those customers who might prefer a quasi-Detroit style pizza in a square format, that might give you a fourth type of pizza to add your repertoire without having to create another dough.

It would have been interesting to get the feedback of the customer who purchased the square Lehmann pizza. You might try it again sometime. It might not pass muster as a Detroit style pizza but for those customers who might prefer a quasi-Detroit style pizza in a square format, that might give you a fourth type of pizza to add your repertoire without having to create another dough.

Peter

Peter,

I would like to know how that customer that purchased that experimental square Lehmann pizza liked it, but I doubt I will hear what they thought. We didnít have any Detroit style pizzas to offer at that time. Steve and I did say it was an experimental pizza, but that didnít stop the customer from purchasing it. I had looked at Steve quickly when the customer told him they wanted to purchase that pizza, because I knew we both wanted to taste it, but making the money for the whole pizza probably was better in the end. I probably will try the experiment again when I find the time, but donít think I want to offer a fourth type of pizza at market. Those square pies take a lot longer to bake and I would rather concentrate on Detroit style pizzas. I am not a machine in trying to make too many types of pies, but it is fun to experiment when I find time.

I had looked at Steve quickly when the customer told him they wanted to purchase that pizza, because I knew we both wanted to taste it, but making the money for the whole pizza probably was better in the end.

Those darned customers who take the food right out of your mouth. I don't know why you put up with them, Norma.

Barry

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I believe my little pizza prep fridge is now fixed so it stays at a constant temperature. The technician said that the condenser was full of flour and he checked it with gauges and believed the condenser just needed a good cleaning. Thankfully it wasnít more serious than what it was. The technician was even full of flour until he was finished fixing my pizza prep fridge. It now stays at whatever temperature it is set at. That is one problem with having such a small area to prepare everything. No only is that not enough room to move around, but so many things need to be moved to get at one piece of equipment to repair it. It is also difficult to keep flour away from the refrigeration equipment.

It was only 50 degrees at market today. Dave made a few signs for me and painted the inside door beside my pizza stand today.